>> pelley: tonight, now we know what happened in the jetblue cockpit. the copilot describes the captain's mental breakdown and his warnings to the passengers. >> i'm looking at this guy and i'm like "this is how it's going to end." >> pelley: lee cowan is covering. at the supreme court, some ju justices ask why the national health care law shouldn't be thro thrown out entirely. >> pelley: jan crawford was in the courtroom. dr. jon lapook on a new study that shows two third of all cancer cases might be preventable. and david martin gets hit by the military's high tech ray gun. it can stop a mob. so why won't they use in the afghanistan?

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. late today we heard for the first time the details from inside the cockpit of that harrowing mental breakdown suffered by a jetblue captain. the copilot says the captain scolded air traffic controllers for making too much noise then turned off all the radios in the cockpit and finally told the copilot they weren't going to make it to their destination. captain clayton osbon was charged today with interfering with a flight crew. he's hospitalized in amarillo, texas, where the new york-to-las vegas flight made its emergency landing yesterday. lee cowan is at the airport in vegas with the copilot's statement and the stories of the passengers. lee? >> reporter: scott, as you say, we're learning a lot more about the pilot of that jetblue flight. turns out, his wife told investigators she didn't notice anything unusual when he went to

work yesterday but a just-released f.b.i. evidence you were talking about details what the copilot told investigators and he told a disturbing picture that started just moments after take off. mark sellouk was sitting in the first row on jetblue flight 191. he was one of the several passengers captured on cell phone video tackling clayton osbon outside the cockpit. >> i'm looking at this happening and he's getting more and more violent and he's starting to say "pray to jesus" and he started yelling to the flight deck "throttle to idle bring this plane down! al qaeda is here!" >> reporter: what is going through your mind? >> i'm thinking of my family, my kids, my wife and i'm thinking "this is how it's going to end." >> reporter: what sellouk didn't know, the captain's bizarre behavior started when he was still at the controls. according to an f.b.i. avid, shortly after leaving j.f.k., osbon began talking to the copilot about religion saying "things just don't matter.

he was becoming increasingly incoherent." he began yelling at air traffic controllers telling them to be quiet. he dimmed monitors ins in the cockpit. the copilot became really worried when osbon said "we need to take a leap of faith. we're not going to vegas." the copilot suggested to osbon they invite an off duty pilot into the cockpit but instead osbon stormed out and went into the forward lavatory. that's when the pilots locked the cockpit door behind him. osbon came out of the bathroom and first went to the back of the plane but suddenly sprinted back up the aisle with flight attendants chasing him and began pounding on the cockpit door as the call went out for an emergency landing. >> reporter: once on the ground, he was restrained and taken for a medical evaluation. for the passengers on board, it was finally a sigh of relief. what did you tell your family when you landd? >> i was just happy to hear their voice.

i'm... counting the hours to be home tomorrow. >> reporter: scott, according to an f.a.a. airmen certification, the pilot did get a clean bill of health as recently as december of 2011. that was only less than four months ago. he wasn't scheduled for another medical evaluation until june. he was certified as both a flight instructor and ground instructor and, up until now, there's no record of him being disciplined. >> pelley: and his colleagues say osbon has a great reputation and the highly regarded. lee, thanks very much. at the supreme court today the new national health care law that affects every american came under withering fire. if the court throws it out, it will be the first time since the new deal that the court has struck down a major domestic program proposed by the president and passed by the congress. the court released audio from today, the third and last day of arguments. jan crawford was in the court for the historic session. jan? >> reporter: well, scott, justice steven breyer showed

everyone in the courtroom today just what was at stake. he held up sections of the law that require all americans to buy insurance and then he held up the rest of the law and he said if we strike down this, what are we going to do about this? well, based on the arguments today, scott, it looks like they f they strike down this, they could just throw out the entire thing. with the majority of the court expressing doubt about the requirement that all americans buy health insurance-- the so-called individual mandate-- liberal justices including ruth bader ginsburg pushed to save the rest of the massive health care law. >> reporter: opponents argue that without everyone buying insurance, the rest of the law doesn't work, including one provision that bars insurance companies from denying coverage

to people with preexisting conditions and a second that prevents companies from hiking up premiums based on a person's medical history. the obama administration concedes those two popular provisions can't be paid for unless everyone in the country buys health insurance. but it argue there is' a lot more to the law than that and all those other parts should stand, including the requirement that insurance companies let adult children in on their policies. all four of the court's liberal justices seemed to agree. it appeared the court's conservatives and moderate swing justice anthony kennedy saw it differently, that if the mandate was gone, the entire law should be scrapped. justice antonin scalia was typically blunt.

>> reporter: conservatives suggested that congress, not the courts, should decide whether the law's other provisions depended on the mandate. scalia provided a light moment when he said reading the law would violate a constitutional amendment, the one that bans cruel and unusual punishment. (laughter) >> reporter: now, this afternoon, the justices took up another big issue coming out of this law, whether congress can essentially force states to expand their health care programs for the poor. scott, there are so many big constitutional issues in this case and throughout these three extraordinary days of hearings we saw the justices deeply divided over congress' power, over its role in american life. we'll have a decision on that and this case by the end of june. >> pelley: jan, thank you very much. it caused a lot of talk in the newsroom today when we got a new report from the centers for

disease control that shows a lot of progress against cancer. the cancer death rate has dropped more than 1.5% each year for four years and it could fall even further. dr. jon lapook is here with us and, jon, the most amazing thing to me in the c.d.c. report was that it said that two-thirds of all cancers can be prevented. >> reporter: that's right, scott. we know a third of cancers are caused by smoking. and up to a third are caused by obesity and lack of exercise. so as many as two-thirds of cancers are potentially preventable. the ones linked to obesity are cancers of the esophagus, colon, pancreas, uterus and in postmenopausal women, breast. >> pelley: how does obesity cause cannes. >> scott, all eyes are pointed towards the stomach. belly fat seems to increase the number of inflammatory compounds in the body and increase hormones like estrogen and insulin that can cause changes inside of cells that lead to cancer. >> pelley: fascinating. jon, thanks very much. just about everyday now it's costing more to drive.

the price of gas is climbing toward $4 a gallon. today's nation average was $3.91. but for the first time in four days the price of crude oil fell by nearly $2 a barrel. we asked anthony mason to tell us what's going on. (shoulding) >> reporter: with high oil prices threatening to tilt world economies back into recession, the u.s., france, and britain may move to tap into reserve oil supplies to drive down the price of crude. "the united states has asked for it" the french minister for industry said today "and france is ready to consider it." president obama also discussed the move with british prime minister david cameron two weeks ago. and analysts say the talk alone could be effective. >> if i were the white house i would always be floating sort of rumors out there that we stand ready to release strategic oil reserves even if it meant only to spank the speculators. >> reporter: record amounts of

money has been pouring into the oil market betting crude is heading higher. by some estimates, that's added $20 to the price of every barrel of oil, or 50 cents to every gallon of gas. the reserve currently holds nearly 700 million barrels of oil in four salt caverns along the texas and louisiana gulf coast. but it's intended to be used only during severe supply disruptions. >> an actual release? perhaps you could make the case that it should only happen if all hell breaks loose in the straight of hormuz. >> reporter: 20% of the world's oil passes through that strait. the president did tap into the reserve just last june to offset disruptions caused by the war in libya. but, scott, the move had little impact on gas prices. >> pelley: thanks, anthony. in havana today, pope benedict had a one-on-one meeting with a former altar boy. we're talking about fidel castro, the revolutionary leader who once tried to abolish religion in cuba. he looked frail as he was helped

into his chair. benedict, who is 84 and castro 85 chatted for about half an hour. the meeting came after the pope celebrated an outdoor mass. he called on the u.s. to end its economic embargo of cuba. with the pope's visit, some americans are having a havana homecoming. the l.a. obstruction of justice dodgerl.a. dodgers are being so. and why won't the pentagon use its high tech ray gun in afghanistan when the "cbs evening news" continues. it's time to get going. to have the energy to turn a "to do" list into a memory. to put more giddy-up in our get-along. to keep stepping up even in overtime. it's time to start gellin' with dr. scholl's... ... and mix a little more hop in our hip hop.

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what's out there matters to me. so does what's in here. break a leg! thanks ed. ask your doctor if prolia® is right for you. >> pelley: we told you earlier about the supreme court hearing on the health care law. it was passed two years ago to help the nearly 50 million uninsured americans. nowhere is that a bigger issue that in texas where nearly a quarter of the residents lack coverage. ben tracy met a nurse there with her own plan to help. >> pick up your pretty little feet for me, darling. >> reporter: nine-year-old georgia shivers had a big wood splinter lodged if her foot. >> hold mommy's hand really tight. >> reporter: a visit to a doctor was not an option. her mom christie does not have health insurance. it would cost her $400 per month. >> that's my girl. >> we need groceries and pay bills and insurance is just too much right now.

i was going we're going to have to go to the emergency room for this because there was nowhere to go. >> reporter: her best alternative was here in this houston area strip mall. on most days, how many patients are you seeing? >> right now i'm averaging anywhere between 15 to 20 patients. >> reporter: melissa herpel opened this unique clinic last june to provide care for those without insurance. the 31-year-old nurse practitioner allowed to do almost everything a general practitioner can do except deliver a baby. >> when you think of uninsured you think of poor, you think of low income, you think of a tiny shack house with somebody who's got no amenities. that's not the case anymore. how's everything going? i kind of noticed i bridge that gap for those patients. i was able to be that in between so that they could get the care that they needed before emergency or disaster struck. >> reporter: herpel financed the clinic herself. the office staff includes both her parents. she charges just $50 per visit and near wholesale prices for

medicine. this antibiotic cost her $2. and what do you rge for an injection? >> i charge $15. >> reporter: what would that be if someone went to a doctor's office? >> $95 to $105. >> reporter: why the difference? >> insurance. >> reporter: the texas academy of family physician says an emergency room visit for georgia's splinter would have cost as much adds $900. and when the uninsured end up here in the e.r. their costs are passed on to paying customers. that means insurance companies end up paying more so they raise rates and fewer people can afford health insurance. and fewer businesses. less than half of texans get health coverage from their employer-- a problem melissa herpel knows well. >> i don't have insurance. i can't afford it for myself. it's at least $200 every two weeks. i can't afford that right now and because of that i don't have insurance. >> reporter: and the problem keeps growing. herpel saw 183 patients last week-- the most since she opened her clinic doors. >> thank you.

>> reporter: ben tracy, cbs news, houston. >> pelley: a los angeles basketball legend has come to the rescue of that city's baseball team. earvin "magic" johnson is part of a group that agreed last night to pay $2 billion for the dodgers, a record price for a sports franchise. the dodgers filed for bankruptcy last summer. and, as the deal was announced in l.a. the major league season got under way in tokyo. the seattle mariners beat the oakland as 3-1. the military spent $120 million developing a weapon it won't use. developing a weapon it won't use. we'll examine why when we come back. "get me an aspirin"... he was just... yeah... i knew that i was doing the right thing, when i gave him the bayer. i'm on an aspirin regimen... and i take bayer chewables.

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[ coughing continues ] log on to fightingforair.org and tell washington: don't weaken clean air protections. >> pelley: u.s. commanders in afghanistan today ordered extra protection for american units. fellow troops will now watch over soldiers and marines as they sleep. it's a response to the recent attacks on american troops by rogue afghan soldiers. david martin was among the first to report on the pentagon's ray gun. it's a high-tech weapon does that does not kill. it seemed ideal for controlling mobs, but it's never been used and we asked david to find out why. >> reporter: call it ray gun 2.0, a new and improved version of the weapon we first told you about four years ago. that flat-dish antenna fired very high frequency radio waves

that stopped a person in his tracks without killing or even injuring him. it caused a burning sensation that made you instantly jump out of the way. the pentagon has been demonstrating how it can control an angry crowd menacing a u.s. checkpoint without having to resort to deadly force. we tried a number of ways to beat it. oh! the ray gun always won. ahh! oh! officially called the active denial system, it's been tested on humans, 11,000 times. bring it on! (laughter). >> reporter: once on then assistant secretary of the air force sue peyton. (screaming) (laughter) who touted it as the solution to the accidental killing of iraqi civilians by american troops. >> huge break through. huge game changer. >> reporter: would this save lives in iraq? >> it would save huge numbers of

lives. >> reporter: but the ray gun never made it to iraq. as the program manager at the time, colonel kirk hymes told us, military commanders have a hard time trust ago weapon that doesn't kill. if this system could kill people it would be easier to field? >> lethal weapons have an easier time getting into our system. >> reporter: in 2010, the ray gun was shipped to afghanistan where prevention of civilian casualties is seen as key to success. but it was sent right back because american commanders were afraid the afghan people would see it as a torture device or a plot to sterilize afghan men. the current program manager colonel tracesy a foal la is trying again to send it to afghanistan but it remains it tough sell. >> can't see it, can't hear it, can't smell it. it's hard to get your arms around that for a lot of people. >> reporter: it still works the same way but it's supposed to be safer because the beam automatically shuts off in three seconds.

oh! yeah. it still works the same way. (laughter) it's been in development for 18 years and cost $120 million. but until a battlefield commander is willing to trust it, the ray gun will remain a military sideshow. david martin, cbs news, quantico, virginia. >> pelley: one american fled cuba more than half a century ago but his heart never left. a homecoming next. c'mon dad!

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by blocking the acid with prilosec otc. and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. coming up at 9 news now at 7:00, thunderstorms are still a problem tonight and we'll talk about how cool it's going to be tomorrow. stay tuned. among the crowds at pope benedict's mass in havana today were hundreds of cuban americans who fled castro's communist takeover more than half a century ago. byron pitts was there for the homecoming. (cheers and applause) >> reporter: it took pope benedict xvi six days, 8,547 miles to arrive here in havana's historic revolution square. >> the most beautiful seaside boulevard in the world. >> reporter: by comparison, 72-year-old rosendo castillo of miami went the long way. you were last in cuba when you were 15 years old. >> that's right. >> reporter: so it's been 57

years. >> correct. >> reporter: welcome home. >> yes. whoo. it's home. la patria. >> reporter: he was not alone. an estimated 800 cuban americans made this pilgrimage to see the pope. many were overcome by the experience. >> and this was the main entrance. >> reporter: castillo took us by his hold high school. his father was a wealthy sugar plantation owner. the family lost it all in castro's revolution in 1959. andy gomez traveled here with castillo. he, too, was born in cuba. a teacher at the university of miami, gomez says an estimated 400,000 americans are now permitted to visit this island annually for humanitarian reasons. >> i think they realize, byron, that the people of cuba have nothing to do with 53 years of dictatorship. they are the consequence of a failed revolution.

>> reporter: both men witnessed what happened during the pope's mass in santiago when this man yelled "down with communists." he was beaten and dragged away by state security. what did that tell you about cuba today? >> a great deal. as a matter of fact, the repression is still very bad. >> reporter: you've been home now. do you need to come back to cuba again after this do you think? >> the united states has been my home now for 57 years but my heart has always been cuban. i can't help it. >> reporter: for many cuban americans that is the heartache of this beautiful queen of the caribbean. she is still home, but only in their dreams. byron pitts, cbs news, havana. >> pelley: that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs

captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org . >> this is 9 news now. >> hello, i'm anita brikman. derek mcginty is on a twinement tonight. the fate of president obama -- assignment tonight. the fate of president obama's healthcare law is now on its final third day in court. bruce leshan with more on today's developments from capitol hill. >> reporter: a little reporter's humility, so many moving parts in today's argument that it is tough to predict the final outcome, but the obama administration has to be concerned about the tone of these three days of hearings. >> what do we want? healthcare! >> when do we want it? >> now! >> reporter: an argument that could shape healthcare in america for generations. >> in the name of the lord our god. >> reporter: right at the start one of the court's